Rosenthal On Fielder, Buchholz, Edmonds
The latest from Ken Rosenthal…
- Rosenthal suggests the Brewers trade Prince Fielder for "premium pitching" and then sign Adam Dunn to replace him. Which begs the question, why wouldn’t the team giving up this premium pitching just sign Dunn instead?
- Despite signing John Smoltz, the Red Sox still are not willing to trade Clay Buchholz for Jarrod Saltalamacchia. The Sox may be willing to move Michael Bowden or especially Daniel Bard for Salty.
- The Yankees’ interest in Mike Cameron "seems to be waning."
- Despite Jon Heyman’s report, the Phillies, Angels, and Brewers deny interest in Derek Lowe. Rosenthal says the market for Oliver Perez is even worse.
- Rosenthal suggests veterans such as Nomar Garciaparra, Frank Thomas, and Jim Edmonds could go the Kenny Lofton route. Lofton, a capable player, sat out the 2008 season when his salary demands weren’t met. As I mentioned yesterday, we’ll soon see which former stars are willing to play for a pittance (if you consider more than $500K a pittance).
- The Orioles have Edmonds on the radar as a first base candidate.
- Suitors for lefty reliever Dennys Reyes: the A’s, Mets, and Dodgers. The Tigers and Rangers are also known to be on the lookout for a southpaw in the pen.
Nationals Rumors: Fielder, Milledge, O-Dog
MLB.com’s Bill Ladson has dug up more Nationals rumors…
- Prince Fielder is one of the left-handed power bats that interest the Nats. Ladson writes that "it’s doubtful" that the Brewers would part with him.
- Lastings Milledge "could be trade bait before the season starts."
- Ladson expects the Nats to go after Orlando Hudson, and suggests he could bat leadoff.
- Willie Harris will stay put in Washington.
- Nick Johnson could start the season at first for the Nats, but they’d rather avoid relying on him.
- Washington isn’t likely to make a play for a big-name starter.
J.J. Putz Rumors: Tuesday
9:57pm: The Mariners spoke with the Cardinals and Brewers today about Putz, though a Fielder for Putz deal never came up.
7:58pm: Doug Melvin didn’t reference Putz specifically, but he did tell reporters he did not find a match with the Mariners in trade talks.
6:02pm: From ESPN’s Steve Phillips:
The Mariners need a power hitter. The Brewers need a closer. There is speculation that the two teams are discussing a package involving Putz and Prince Fielder.
11:22am: Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press says talks between the Ms and Tigers for Putz are ongoing.
11:04am: Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times says the Indians "are not really contenders" for Mariners closer J.J. Putz, as they’d prefer to sign a free agent. He notes lukewarm interest from St. Louis and believes the Tigers and Brewers are more serious. Baker questions whether the Tigers have the young players to get it done.
As for the Brewers, Baker speaks of a possible large multiplayer deal that’s "all just a concept for now."
Rosenthal’s Latest: Teixeira, Closers, Castillo, Cantu
Ken Rosenthal has a new column up, let’s take a look at the highlights:
- Rosenthal doesn’t see Mark Teixeira signing with the Nationals, even for the rumored ten-year, $200MM contract. He’s got better options in the Angels, Red Sox, and Yankees. Scott Boras managed to get Alex Rodriguez a ten-year deal with a losing team in 2000 when he signed with the Rangers, but Rosenthal doesn’t forsee a repeat.
- The Indians are waiting on the Mets’ closer decision to make a decision of their own. Once New York signs or trades for a closer, the market will likely collapse. The Mets are preparing simultaneous offers to Francisco Rodriguez, Brian Fuentes, and Kerry Wood.
- The Brewers could spend big money on a closer once they hear from Ben Sheets and C.C. Sabathia. If the Brewers can somehow retain both, they won’t have money to spend on a closer and would likely have to trade Prince Fielder.
- The Mets are desperately trying to unload Luis Castillo so they can make a run at Orlando Hudson. They’re having no luck though, even in trying to swap him for another bad contract. The Rangers rejected a swap of Castillo for Vicente Padilla.
- Nationals GM Jim Bowden is interested in Willy Taveras. Doesn’t make any sense to me. The Nats already have Lastings Milledge, Josh Willingham, Elijah Dukes, and Austin Kearns.
- The Rockies prefer to keep Garrett Atkins, but the Twins, Dodgers, Giants, and Phillies are all interested. Chase Utley has been a long-time supporter of bringing his former UCLA teammate to the Phils for a reunion.
- The Marlins are getting several inquiries on Jorge Cantu and Dan Uggla. They don’t plan to trade either, though if the Giants were to offer Jonathan Sanchez for Cantu, the Marlins would jump at the chance.
- Jermaine Dye, Mike Cameron, Marcus Thames, and Marlon Byrd are all available via the trade market, for teams needing a right-handed hitting outfielder. Rosenthal still feels Cameron could still end up in pinstripes.
Nationals Rumors: Dunn, Votto, Greinke
ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick talks about the Nationals in today’s column. A few hot stove nuggets:
- Crasnick talked to several agents and execs who just can’t see the Nationals ponying up $20MM+ per year for Mark Teixeira.
- The Nats crave a lefthanded slugging first baseman, so Adam Dunn could fit the bill. Crasnick talked to a couple of officials who suggested Dunn might have to settle in the three-year, $36MM range. However, the Nationals may have to pay a premium to convince any prominent free agent to sign.
- Crasnick says the Nationals have explored many interesting names: Prince Fielder, Adrian Gonzalez, James Loney, Joey Votto, and Zack Greinke. They may not have the young talent to pull off that kind of deal though.
- The Nats are "looking forward to the opportunity" to select Scott Boras client Stephen Strasburg in next June’s draft.
Nationals Not Pursuing Manny
Yesterday, Yahoo’s Tim Brown suggested the Nationals and Jim Bowden were "promising everyone they’re going to be players in the Manny bidding." However, Bowden sent an email to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson today: "We are not pursuing Manny Ramirez."
Ladson says the Nationals are still in the market for a lefthanded slugger – Mark Teixeira, Adam Dunn, and Prince Fielder remain on the radar. And despite their abundance of outfielders, they’ve expressed interest in new Rockie Carlos Gonzalez.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Fielder, Beimel, Eckstein
Ken Rosenthal is on the scene at the GM meetings, and as usual has all kinds of new info.
- The Brewers are unlikely to trade Prince Fielder, and reluctant to trade J.J. Hardy or Alcides Escobar. It’d be smart to retain those three players.
- Rosenthal still likes the Braves as the favorite for Jake Peavy, but wonders if the Cubs or another team could incorporate a third team to get it done.
- The Cubs will need to spend much of their available money on pitching, which may leave little payroll room for an outfielder like Bobby Abreu. They could backload contracts and move some of Jason Marquis‘ salary though.
- The Mets are interested in lefty reliever Joe Beimel, as well as usual suspects Francisco Rodriguez, Brian Fuentes, and Kerry Wood. They also like Raul Ibanez.
- The Cardinals could move forward with a Ryan Ludwick/Colby Rasmus/Rick Ankiel outfield, or trade one of them. Ankiel, entering his contract year, seems most likely to go if Rasmus is ready.
- David Eckstein is marketing himself as a second baseman for 2009.
- Don’t look for the Phillies to move Shane Victorino in a Matt Holliday deal.
- The Cardinals and Nationals are not contenders for A.J. Burnett. Still no word on Burnett’s opt-out.
- The Marlins may wait until some of the top free agent starters sign before shopping Scott Olsen.
Nationals Looking For Cleanup Hitter
According to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson, the Nationals are looking for a cleanup hitter. Their targets: Adam Dunn, Prince Fielder, Matt Holliday, and Mark Teixeira.
The Nats probably do not have the depth to pull off a trade for Fielder or Holliday. Teixeira will command a contract in the $150MM range. Of the four, Dunn makes the most sense. He can be had for less than $100MM, and GM Jim Bowden has a history with him.
Brewers To Listen On Fielder
According to George King and Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post, the Brewers have informed teams they’ll listen to offers for first baseman Prince Fielder. Fielder, 24, hit .276/.372/.507 in 694 plate appearances this year. He’s under team control for three more years; his salary will increase drastically as he goes through the arbitration process for the first time this offseason.
The article’s authors do not see the Yankees as suitors for Fielder, due to his defense and the team’s long-term desire to move Derek Jeter to first base after the 2010 season. The Jeter logic seems a little shaky, since Fielder is only under team control through 2011.
I discussed six possible Fielder suitors earlier this month. The question is, who’s willing to give up good young pitching?
Week in Review: 10/5 – 10/11
Let’s kick things off this afternoon with the week in review…
- Rich Harden doesn’t need surgery, and he also doesn’t need to worry about where he’s pitching next year. The Cubs exercised his $7MM option this week. That one was a no-brainer, good news for Cubs fans.
- Elsewhere in the Midwest, the Twins exercised backup catcher Mike Redmond’s option for $950K. While that’s great news for Twins fans, the bigger story for them is that Delmon Young could be available this offseason. Personally, I think trading a 23-year-old outfielder with that kind of upside would be a colossal mistake. I realize the Twins feel the need to acquire some infield help, but trading a former #1 overall pick after one disappointing season when he’s just 23 holds zero logic in my mind. I still like the Young/Matt Garza trade for Minnesota in the long run.
- Couple of notes on the Brewers’ 1-2 punch, as C.C. Sabathia told reporters he’s open to playing anywhere, and wants to get his free agency over with quickly, and early in the offseason. As for Ben Sheets, despite his elbow injury, he is likely to be wearing a new uniform when 2009 comes around. His injury is apparently not too serious anyway.
- We saw a few different rumblings about a possible Jake Peavy trade. Peavy doesn’t like the idea of a full-scale rebuilding project in San Diego, and an interview with his agent hints that he may be willing to play for the Yankees. If he’d prefer to be somewhere closer to home (Alabama), the Braves could be an interesting suitor.
- Ryan Howard’s name has been tossed around as a potential trade candidate, but he’s likely to remain in place. One slugging first baseman from the NL will be available though, it seems: Tim takes a look at several potential landing sites for Prince Fielder. Trading Fielder is only a good idea if they can get a cheap, young, potential ace in my mind. With Sabathia and Sheets on their way out the door, the Brewers are going to need that offense working on all cylinders.
- For those teams that need power, but lose out on the Fielder sweepstakes (assuming he’s moved that is), there’s still power to be had. Here’s a list of this year’s free agent home run leaders.
- Tim covered his Offseason Outlook for the Twins, White Sox, Cardinals, and Astros.
- Curt Schilling will either pitch for a contender in the second half of 2009 or retire.